Four Southwestern Ontario healthcare centres, including two hospitals, are getting $4.4 million for upgrades and repairs to their aging facilities, the Ontario government announced Wednesday.
The majority of the funding – $3.7 million – will go to Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital, with Four Counties Health Services in Newbury receiving $264,500.
At Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital, the funding will support the addition of two new chillers to support the building’s cooling system.
“This infrastructure funding is of vital importance to support aging hospitals, like ours,” Middlesex Hospital Alliance president and CEO Julie McBrien said in a news release.
“These infrastructure projects make our hospital environment better for our patients, families, staff and physicians, and enables us to deliver on our mission and vision.”
At Four Counties, the funding will be put towards a multi-year project aimed at replacing exhaust fan units.
In addition to the two hospitals, the Westover Treatment Centre, an addiction treatment facility in Thamesville, is receiving $365,000, and Chatham-Kent Community Health Centers is in line for $103,500 from the province.
The money “will ensure patients and families can continue to receive access to world-class medical care close to home,” Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton said in a news release Wednesday.
“Today’s funding will ensure more people in southwestern Ontario can receive the quality health-care services they need quickly,” he said.
The funding for the four area health centers is part of a $200 million investment to hospitals through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund and over $8.4 million to community health service providers through the Community Infrastructure Renewal Fund.
The investment targets infrastructure renewal needs such as upgrades or replacements of roofs, windows, security systems, fire alarms and back-up generators